Wrong Turn
by RunFarAwayWithMe
Summary: Beca's dad is eager to find someone who will be a 'good influence' on his alternative daughter, and introduces her to the over-achieving Luke Brandon. As Beca becomes reluctantly intrigued by this seemingly perfect guy, she is introduced to his family and becomes close with his sister, Chloe. She soon realises that Luke is just a wrong turn on her way to true love.
1. Chapter 1

As her father's voice got louder and louder, Beca turned up the volume of her music until his dulcet tones were nothing but a tiny drone in the background. She was perfectly content working on her mix without the disruption of one of her father's routinely lectures about any one of her lifestyle choices, whether it be her hobbies or her ear piercings. If she had judged it right, she had about ten more seconds before he would come bursting through her door. It was just enough time to save her mix and let out a heavy sigh as she wished she could get back to college already.

Admittedly Barden wasn't her favourite place on Earth, but at least she could be her own person there (when she didn't have to attend her Philosophy class). Right on cue the bedroom door flung open and smacked loudly against the dresser behind it. Beca sat for a minute just clicking aimlessly on her computer, pretending not to notice her dad until he stormed over impatiently and physically removed the headphones from her head. It was an immature move but if the man insisted on treating her like a child, then she would act like a child.

"Would you please come down and join Sheila and I for dinner," he said with exasperation. Beca slowly turned her head up to him and stated bluntly, "I'm not hungry."  
"Please, Beca. Just make an effort for once. You're only staying the weekend, all I'm asking is that you endure one meal with your family."  
"She's not my family," Beca retorted sharply and pulled her headphones back over her ears.

John hung around for a few more seconds before sticking his hands in his pockets and walking back downstairs, at a loss of how to reach out to his daughter. Little did he know that Beca didn't want him to reach out to her, however she was starting to feel hungry. Not wanting to give her father the satisfaction of a victory she decided to wait for ten more minutes before sulking downstairs, and sitting silently at the table. Conversation was sparse and awkward but it was nothing Beca wasn't used to.

It was only when everyone had almost finished their meals that conversation took a turn for the worse as Mr Mitchell announced, "I've invited Luke Brandon over for lunch tomorrow." Beca's cutlery clattered loudly against her plate as they dropped from her fingers and she stared at her dad. "You did what?"  
"I've invited Luke Brandon over for lunch tomorrow."  
"Yeah I heard that bit. Why?"  
"He's a nice boy, I thought you might get on well and he'd be a good influence on you."  
"What made you think I need someone to influence me?"

He looked at her as though the answer was written all over her body. Technically, it was: the many piercings, the three tattoos, the death-glare she was sending him all pointed to her need for a good influence. "He'll be here at noon so you'll have some time to get to know one another before we eat."  
"Gross," Beca said and pushed her chair away from the table. She could just about hear an angry voice say, "Rebeca Louise Mitchell!" as her feet stomped heavily up the stairs. She didn't hesitate in slamming her door for added effect before dragging her laptop onto her bed to listen to music.

The next morning she woke in her clothes from the previous night and her laptop still balanced on her legs, threatening to fall. With a sigh she slid off the bed, moving her laptop back onto the desk and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Rubbing her eyes as she adjusted to the sunlight, she was taken off guard when she was greeted by the sight of Sheila standing over her sink. The robust woman spun around and said in her droll voice, "Sorry sweetie, your father's still in the en suite. You don't mind, do you?"

"I just wanted a shower," Beca said in the hope that her stepmother would take the hint and find somewhere else to pluck her eyebrows. Thankfully she did, and left the bathroom with her tweezers in hand. Beca stripped off and turned on the water, grateful for the warm cascade down her shoulders and back. She scrubbed lazily at her skin, not intent on making any effort at all for Mr Luke Brandon. She had only encountered him twice before in her life and had vowed both times that they would be the last.

The first time he had jumped a hole through her trampoline (they were six), which she still swore was intentional. The second time she had knocked her dad's beer into his lap, which had definitely been intentional. He was the son of one of her father's friends and that's about all she knew about him, other than the fact the she didn't want to be set up on a stupid play-date with him. She was eighteen years old for crying out loud, if she wanted a date then she could damn well get one herself.

Stepping out the shower, she wrapped a towel around her body and walked back into her room. It didn't take long for her to decide on a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt before trudging downstairs and heading straight for the kitchen. As usual she ignored her father's good morning greeting and proceeded to make herself a mug of tea. "You might want to get ready, Luke will be here in ten minutes."  
"I thought he was coming at midday?"  
"Beca, you slept until eleven thirty."  
"Good job I'm ready then."

John paused for a moment, debating whether it was worth commenting on his daughter's casual appearance but instead settled for sighing and walking out the room. Moments later the doorbell rang. "Great! If there's one thing I love more than someone who's punctual, it's someone who arrives _ten minutes early_," Beca announced sarcastically for her father and stepmother to hear as she walked to the front door, still holding her mug.

She opened the door and smiled as she examined the button down shirt that the young man was wearing, along with a pair of rigorously polished black shoes. In all fairness, he wasn't bad looking. "Luke, please come in," she said with a saccharine voice. Luke barely had time to breathe before Mr Mitchell had swooped in on him and clasped their hands in a firm handshake. "Good to see you son, how's your father getting on?"

The two exchanged pleasant conversation as Beca stood there sipping from the mug, waiting for them to finish before saying, "Do you want one?" and lifting up the cup.  
"No, thank you," Luke said politely and clasped his hands behind his back, holding himself up with strict posture and a crooked smile. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds as they all lingered in the doorway until John said, "Beca – why don't you show Luke into the front room? Sheila and I will let you know when dinner is ready."

She nodded and walked in the direction of the front room, not waiting to see if Luke was following. Luckily he was, but when she turned around and shut the door behind them she had to look twice to check he was the same guy. He sat down on the sofa and slouched back, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "You mind?" he asked, and Beca shook her head in a stunned silence. He lit up and took one long drag before holding it out towards her. "No thanks," she said, her voice unusually quiet.  
"Suit yourself. I'm sorry about all this by the way – by dad basically forced me to come here and I'm guessing you're not exactly a willing participant either?"

Beca shook her head again. "I hear you're a troubled soul?" he said with a smirk.  
"Well you know, get a couple of tattoos and get caught smoking pot once and you're stuck with that label for life." Gradually she began to relax and actually have a conversation with Luke without needing to crane her neck to see him on his high horse. She discovered he was studying Latin and ran the Literary Society at his college, which he managed to say with only a glimmer of his obnoxious nature showing.

She was in the middle of laughing at something he said when footsteps neared the door, and both sets of eyes in the room instantly swung to the cigarette in Luke's hand. She didn't know what made her do it, but Beca reached across and grabbed it from him just as the door swung open. John stared angrily at her, prompting her to stub it out on the bottom of her mug as she explained, "It's calming. For my troubled soul."  
"I am so sorry Luke," John began, but was interrupted by his guest's hasty acceptance.  
"Honestly Mr Mitchell, it's okay. I know my father doesn't tolerate smoking but I'm not so ignorant to stop someone else smoking if it's their lifestyle choice."

Mr Mitchell looked like a proud father as he gazed at Luke, not bothering to glance at his own daughter before leading them both to the dinner table where a glorious buffet lunch was spread out. Conversation was focused on Luke's veganism, and Luke's presidency position on the local Animal Rights Comity, and Luke's recent charity work in New Orleans, and Luke's this and Luke's that and Luke Luke Luke Luke Luke.

By the time lunch was over, Beca was longing to be back at Barden where being overshadowed was her choice and she didn't have to tolerate all-star award winning golden boys like Luke. Did she dream him smoking in the front room? Did she dream the whole conversation where she had actually begun to like him? And why the hell did she protect him earlier from her father? If anything, she almost wanted her dad to catch him smoking just so he would see past Luke's 'perfect' image. And yet she still couldn't help but be intrigued by his ambiguous nature.


	2. Chapter 2

After a tedious weekend, Beca was back at Barden. She was walking across the quad with the guy she worked with at the radio station when her phone rang, and she saw the name Luke appear on the screen. "Is this the guy from the weekend?" Jesse asked. Beca bit the inside of her cheek and nodded, debating whether to answer or not. Eventually she accepted the call and waited for Luke to speak first. "Hello?" his well-spoken voice sounded unusual on the tinny line. "Hey, Luke. What's up?"  
"I was wondering if you might want to come over to mine this weekend? My family are having a barbeque and I figured you'd enjoy it."

Beca quickly searched her memory for any indication that she could have given Luke that she would enjoy a day amongst his family and came up empty. However her mouth didn't seem to be connected to her brain at that moment in time and said, "Sure. I mean, as long as I don't have to take credit for your cigarettes again."  
"No, I promise that was a one-time thing," Luke chuckled, and a small smile tugged at Beca's unruly lips. "I'll text you all the details later, okay?"  
"Okay," Beca replied and tried to avoid Jesse's accusing glare as she hung up.

Her efforts to continue walking in silence were useless, as only two steps later Jesse had begun with the questions. "What's that about cigarettes? I thought you said he was a stuck-up prick? Are you meeting up with him again? _Tell me_ you're not meeting up with him again?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't know, Jess. I guess he wasn't all that bad. I mean sure, in front of my father I wanted to strangle him, but when it was just me and him in that front room it seemed kinda normal."  
"Wait – so you're telling me you actually like him?! You like the know-it-all prissy that your dad set you up with to 'save your soul' and scrub the tattoos off your body?"  
"I don't like him!" Beca fought defensively. "I'm just saying I don't necessarily dislike him."

With a sigh, Jesse flung his arm around the shoulders of his best friend. He knew it made her uncomfortable, but maybe it was exactly what she needed to shock some sense back into her system. "Fine. I'm happy for you! I just can't say I ever pictured you with a Latin scholar…" That comment earned him a punch in the arm.

All too soon, the weekend came around. Beca had settled on a pair of black jeans and a red vest top without a jacket, seeing as the sun had decided to make an appearance. She grabbed her keys and phone before heading out the door of her dorm, wondering what on earth she was doing. Jesse was only messing around – she couldn't like Luke… could she? No. She was going over to the Brandon household for a casual barbeque. Besides, he had already graduated from college and probably wouldn't even be interested in her.

She drove over to the address that Luke had texted her and wasn't surprised to arrive at a typical American home, white picket fence and all. Several cars were already lining up in the street and judging by the make of the cars, this wasn't just a "casual barbeque". As expected, Luke opened the front door and inside the house were a collection of people all in fancy dresses with small kitten heels, or men in black trousers and a smart shirt. She was beginning to wonder whether Luke lived in those types of shirts.

"Am I too informal?" she said instantly but without too much concern. Luke gazed down at her black converse and the small rip in her jeans. "Maybe a little. Come in; my sister will probably have something you can borrow." Before she could protest against changing clothes he was already leading her upstairs. "I didn't know you had a sister," she said, trying not to feel too awkward as they walked past a trophy cabinet.

"Step-sister," Luke replied, "But our parents married when we were very young so we've hardly known any different." He stopped outside a pale blue coloured door and knocked twice. Eventually it was pulled open and a tall redhead stood in the doorway. "This is Beca," Luke introduced and gestured to Beca, who waved quickly. "Can you lend her a dress or anything… not ripped?"

A melody tumbled out of the redheads mouth as she laughed, looking down at Beca's jeans. "I'm guessing he didn't tell you what kind of barbeque our family like to throw?"  
"It would appear not," Beca replied shyly.  
"Come in, I'm sure I have something."  
Luke nodded his head briefly in thanks before saying, "I'll leave you girls to it."

"I'm Chloe by the way," the redhead explained as she shut the door behind Beca, letting her quickly scope out her surroundings. "And my brother is a complete dick for inviting you."  
"Should I be scared?" Beca asked, suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness.  
"Once I've got you out of those clothes you'll have nothing to worry about."

Beca raised an eyebrow at the provocative nature of the sentence, but Chloe hadn't even seemed to notice. Deciding to just ignore it, she watched as the tall girl searched wilfully through her closet. "No offense, but will you have anything to fit me? I mean, you're kind of tall and I'm pretty sure my boobs are bigger than yours," Beca asked, not yet aware that she had been checking out Chloe's figure.

For a few minutes she didn't receive an answer until suddenly Chloe spun round with a black maxi skirt in her hands. "Keep your red vest top on – you're right about your boobs," she said and didn't bother being subtle about looking. "If you wear this skirt you can fold it over quite a bit at the top to make it a better length for you." Beca stared at the skirt and nodded, waiting for some privacy. As though she could read her thoughts, Chloe turned around and began occupying herself again in the closet tidying up some clothes.

Figuring this would be the only chance she'd get, Beca pulled on the skirt over her jeans before kicking off her converses and pulling her jeans down beneath the cover of the skirt. "I'm done," she said, "Except for shoes." Wordlessly, Chloe walked out the room and returned back a few seconds later with a pair of black pumps in her hands. "I think my shoes would be too big but my mom has tiny feet, so these should fit you."

Luckily they did, and once they were on Chloe took a step back to admire her work. "Perfect. Almost," she said, and Beca wondered what else she needed to be suitably dressed for the so-called 'casual' barbeque. She parted her lips to ask but before she had chance to speak, Chloe was in her personal space and reaching up to her hair. Her tender fingers tucked a strand behind her ear before biting down on her lip as though trying to figure out a puzzle.

She reached behind Beca's head and carefully pulled out the hairband, allowing her hair to fall lightly onto her shoulders. After a few adjustments, Chloe smiled contently. "There," she said, but still didn't move away. "Beautiful."

She only lingered for a couple more seconds before walking towards the door and saying proudly, "Come on, let's go show you off to my brother."

They walked downstairs and saw Luke talking eagerly to some relatives – far enough away for him not to notice them yet, but close enough so that they could hear the conversation. "What about that girl I saw you bring in the house and hurry upstairs? My dear, I do hope she's not a new _girlfriend_," one of the women was saying. Chloe quickly cast an anxious look at Beca, but the smaller girl didn't seem fazed by it at all. Before Luke could reply, the portly man standing with them spoke up. "Is she that girl your father was telling me about? I hear she's a little project of yours. You know – save the reckless and all that."

Luke didn't agree with them, but he didn't protest either. He merely chuckled along with them.

"Let me show you the garden," Chloe said hastily, taking Beca by the arm. She pulled her outside where Luke's dad was standing proudly over his barbeque whilst making conversation with some well-dressed women. She avoided eye contact with all of them as she led Beca towards the back of the garden where a small bench sat in the sun. Beca didn't know when she had picked them up but somehow by the time they sat down, Chloe had two glasses of wine in her hands and offered one to Beca.

"He doesn't really think that you know. He just has to go along with what everyone says – it's like a game," Chloe explained unconvincingly. "Don't get me wrong though, he can be an utter moron sometimes."  
"You don't say," Beca muttered, wondering why she had even bothered turning up to the house. However, her feelings of regret didn't last long when Chloe made it her aim to cheer her up, whether it be through making fun of fat aunts or playing subtle drinking games.


	3. Chapter 3

Beca had been home from her philosophy class for two minutes when her phone rang. It was a text from Chloe, and it was right on cue. _  
You're out of class now, right? How'd it go?  
_She quickly sent back a reply and made herself comfy on her bed. Ever since she found out that Chloe was also at Barden University, they'd been texting non-stop. It had been going on ever since the family barbeque at the weekend, and it had been a welcome release. Despite this, she had still met up with Luke twice for dinner.

Her phone rang again at the same time there was a knock at the door, and she read the new text whilst opening the door. She knew it was a bad idea a second too late as Jesse pulled the phone from her grasp and took it upon himself to read through the text messages. "Chloe? Who's Chloe?" he asked, making himself at home on her bed.  
"None of your business," Beca said, already nosily poking around at the food he had brought in his bag.

Thankfully he dropped the conversation and instead proceeded to set up the film Pretty Woman. "Really?" Beca asked when she saw the title of the film.  
"It's a great movie!" he protested and ignored her pleas to go somewhere else. Eventually she placidly sat next to him and trained her eyes on the laptop screen, hoping that as long as the film was on, Jesse wouldn't ask any more about Chloe.

Julia Roberts was in the middle of sitting noisily on the piano when Beca's phone went off for the fifth time. Jesse couldn't ignore the smirk on her face and paused the movie, shifting the laptop to the end of the bed. "Okay spill," he said without needing to explain what about. Beca's cheeks turned a guilty shade of red and replied, "There's nothing to tell! I met Chloe last weekend and we've just been talking." She was met with a disbelieving glare. "Honestly!" she said and held her hands up defensively.

Jesse glared for a few more seconds before asking dubiously, "So she was at lover boy's barbeque?"  
"Don't call him that. And yes, if you must know she's his sister."  
"Shit, Beca! I thought you were into Luke!"  
"I am! We've been on a couple of dates this week and he's been great. So what if I'm texting his sister, I thought guys liked it when we were friends with their family?"  
"Okay fine. At least put your phone away for the rest of the movie, you're missing some great scenes!"

Reluctantly, Beca slid the phone into her pocket and forced herself to ignore it when it rang with a reply. Jesse was just overreacting. She was friends with Chloe, was that so bad?

The next day, Luke invited her over for dinner. It was just going to be the two of them, thank god, which meant no awkward conversation with his parents. Except when she walked into the house, it apparently wasn't just going to be the two of them. Chloe was there as well. "Don't mind me," she said in her melodic voice. "I'm just grabbing some pizza then heading back upstairs."  
"Stay if you want." The words slipped out of Beca's mouth before she could stop them. "Really?" Luke and Chloe both asked at the same time.

Searching her brain for some sort of reason behind her suggestion, Beca eventually said, "Yeah. I mean it's not going to do any harm you hanging around for pizza and a movie." Luke had an obvious disgruntled look on his face, but Beca couldn't care less. The three of them headed into the front room, made themselves comfy on the sofa – Beca in the middle, and put on a horror film.

Someone had just been stabbed or had their throat slit, Beca wasn't really paying attention to which. What she was paying attention to was the leg pressed against hers and the body warmth she could feel radiating from the person beside her. Chloe's body rested loosely against hers and it seemed that everywhere their skin contacted was on fire. Meanwhile, Luke had his arm around Beca's shoulders and it just felt like a dead weight. 'This doesn't mean anything' she kept telling herself. 'I like Luke.'

She spent so long sitting there justifying why she liked Luke that she didn't even realise when the film was over. Chloe was already on her feet clearing away the empty pizza boxes and said, "That was good! I am definitely going to bed now though, I have to be at college early tomorrow."  
"That sucks."  
"I know. And it's with Professor Teller – you know what he's like."  
Beca started laughing at the thought of the repugnant man and got up to help Chloe clear away the mess. Conversation came so much easily between the two of them – they'd proven that all week through the constant texting.

"Okay! Night, Chloe!" Luke interrupted their conversation. His sister took the hint and bid them both goodnights before turning to Beca. She pulled her into a hug and it felt strangely natural. Beca couldn't help but notice the musky perfume she wore and the constant warmth she always seemed to radiate. "Night…" she muttered by Chloe's ear before pulling away and returning to Luke on the couch.

The redhead bounded upstairs and Beca tried eagerly to shake the last few moments from her mind. She didn't like Chloe. Jesse was just winding her up. Besides, Luke was hot: he was smart too, and funny, and got on well with parents. What wasn't there to like about him? Beca was in the middle of admiring the slight crookedness of Luke's hair when he suddenly moved closer; leaving their faces only inches apart. "You're so hot, Beca," he said, and she smiled. He liked her – that was another good sign.

Not even a second passed before he pressed their lips firmly together, and Beca returned the fervour. By the time he was unbuttoning her jeans, she had forgotten all about Chloe.

The next morning she woke in a bit of a blur. Someone was moving around in the kitchen and making enough noise to wake her, but evidently not enough to wake Luke. They were both still on the couch wearing a lot less clothing than Beca felt comfortable in, and she quickly slid out of his grasp to reach her clothes. She wasn't supposed to be this girl anymore, she thought, and yet there she was silently pulling on her top and praying she didn't wake the guy on the couch.

Her mind was telling her to stay calm but her hands betrayed her, shaking as she buttoned up her jeans. The thought crossed her mind to leave a note, but she soon thought better of it and crept out into the hallway. She managed to sneak away from Luke but as she quickly glanced into the kitchen, she realised that Chloe was already up. "Hey! Want some breakfast?" she called out. Hurriedly Beca shook her head, realising it was a bad idea when the room swayed a bit. Her thoughts were scrambled but she knew very clearly that she had to get out of there.

"I'm fine. I have to go," she said without any explanation and headed for the door. Footsteps behind her told her that Chloe wasn't giving up that easily, and she soon felt tender fingers catch onto her own. "Are you okay?" Chloe whispered with concern in her eyes. Beca bit her lip for a moment considering how to answer, but eventually nodded and said, "Sure – of course I'm okay. I'm just in a bit of a rush. Friend… crisis. Jesse needs me."  
"Oh okay. I'll text you later then."  
"Bye."

Not wasting any more time, Beca pulled open the front door and walked hastily down the road. She practically jogged to where her car was parked and climbed into the driver's seat. Driving was good. At least driving would give her something to focus on rather than the events of the previous night. She zoned out for most of the journey, parked in the student car park, and then headed for Jesse's place.

She hadn't even had the chance to look at the time, but it was evidently early when Jesse answered the door in his boxers and a t-shirt. "Beca," he said sleepily, "Where's the fire?"  
"Luke's house."  
He let out a heavy sigh. "Shit. Okay, you better come in. Be quiet though – we don't want to wake Benji."  
Beca walked straight over to the empty bed and sat down, covering her face with her hands.

"Beca talk to me. What's happened? You don't usually get out of bed until lunch," Jesse asked as he sat down opposite her, grabbing a box of cereal from his desk and reaching his hand into the box. "I just… I don't want to fall for Chloe. That's not what's supposed to happen."  
"What is supposed to happen?"  
"I don't know! I'm meant to fall for a guy, for starters. And Luke isn't actually a bad person, but I can't stop thinking about Chloe."  
"I know how you're feeling," Jesse said just as Beca reached for some cereal.

"Really? You're telling me that you started dating a girl that your dad set you up with, only to start falling for her brother despite the fact you're almost certain you're not gay?"  
"Okay… so maybe I don't know exactly how you're feeling. But it's gotta be tough."  
"Thank you for your wise words of wisdom," Beca said, slumping back against the wall. "It's not just Chloe… I really fucked up last night."  
"What did you do?"  
Beca paused and avoided his gaze as she confessed, "I may have screwed Luke."

Jesse's jaw dropped open, revealing a particularly unattractive display of the cereal in his mouth. "I know! I know!" Beca sighed, already guessing that her best friend was judging her. "All I wanted was to forget Chloe. I wanted to convince myself that I really liked Luke, not her."  
"Did it work?"  
"…No."


	4. Chapter 4

Beca's phone wouldn't stop ringing, and as long as Chloe's name flashed up on the screen, Beca was planning on ignoring it. She hated feeling this attracted to someone and was determined to fight or ignore it as much as possible. Chloe was just making it so damned hard to do so.

She shut it in a drawer to muffle the sound, only to retrieve it seconds later before really knowing what she was doing. "Hello?" she said unsurely, but all her nerves dissipated when the melodic tones of Chloe's voice answered back. "Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to meet up today?"  
"Sure. I mean… No, sorry. I can't. I have way too much work."  
"Why don't I come over then? I can bring food; maybe watch a movie until you're done."

Beca took in a deep breath, preparing to say no for the second time. "Sure, that sounds great." As the words left her mouth she hit herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. "Great! See you soon," Chloe replied and hung up. Suddenly looking around the room, Beca noticed that everything was a complete mess. She hastily scooped up the stray clothes and shoved them in the wardrobe, and then turned to her bed.

It was covered in empty packets of crisps and wires leading to her laptop tangled themselves in the bed sheets. She just managed to shove the mess into the bin when she heard a noise from behind her and noticed her roommate Kimmy Jin sitting at her own desk. "You need to leave," Beca said firmly.  
"Why?" It was a good question. If Beca and Chloe were merely friends, why would Kimmy need to leave? "I've got someone coming over, so please can you just go?"  
"What's in it for me?"  
"I will… keep my side of the room tidy from now on."  
"Not good enough."

Beca groaned in frustration. "I will… let you use my bed when you have people over to play video games."  
"I do that anyway."  
"Fine," Beca said angrily, pulling Kimmy Jin up by her arm, "How about you think about what you want while you're taking a nice long walk?" Reluctantly her roommate walked out of their dorm, slamming the door behind her as she went.

Moments after she left, Beca started to think that it was a bad idea her and Chloe being alone. If Kimmy Jin was there, they'd be more likely to keep things friendly. It was too late now. She opened her laptop, remembering that she had told Chloe she had a lot of work to do, which wasn't a lie, and sat down at her desk. She had only managed to type a short paragraph of her Philosophy essay when there was a knock at the door. She froze for a moment, fixed her hair, and then walked over to the door.

She pulled it open and walked back to her desk as casually as she could, conscious of every step she took knowing that Chloe was watching. Chloe invited herself to sit on the bed, opened up her own laptop and swung a bag full of junk food towards Beca. "Okay, I have snacks to throw at you while you work and three episodes of Game of Thrones to watch, which means you have about three hours to finish your work, and then I start to get bored and attack you."  
"Sounds like a good deal," Beca said, and tried hard to focus on the Word document instead of the low cut vest top Chloe was wearing.

It was actually a good thing that Chloe had come over, Beca thought, because she had never tried so hard to focus on an essay. With the redhead sitting there munching on some sour patch kids, Beca wanted to give off the impression that she was working hard and so didn't procrastinate as much as usual. However when the last episode of Game of Thrones had finished, she felt one of the sugary sweets hit her right on the ear. She smirked, but continued to type. Seconds later, a tiny green body flew past her nose.

"Can you hold on for two minutes? I have one last point to type up then I'm done."  
"Okay, I'll just entertain myself until then," Chloe said mischievously, making Beca slightly worried and type a lot faster. For the first minute nothing happened, but then she heard Chloe slide off the bed and start wandering around. Deciding that monitoring her guest was much more important, she saved the essay where it was and shut her laptop. "Okay! I'm done." She swivelled round in the chair and saw Chloe about to take a bite of another sweet.

"I hope you've left some for me," she said playfully.  
"I gave you two already!"  
"You threw them at me! How was I supposed to catch them?"  
"Like this," Chloe laughed and threw another one at Beca's head. To both of their surprise, Beca caught it. She popped it in her mouth with a smirk and wandered closer to Chloe. "You have sugar all over your mouth you know," she said, noticing the tiny jewels around Chloe's lips.

Chloe ducked her head and smiled as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Is it gone?" she asked, and Beca laughed. Most of it had vanished but there was still a small amount coating her lips like lip-gloss. "Can you get it for me?" Chloe asked innocently, but Beca felt a lump form in her throat. "S-sure," she said, and proceeded to gently wipe her thumb across Chloe's lips.

Chloe's crystal blue eyes stared intently at Beca, and then she lifted her hand to the smaller girl's own lips. "What are you doing?" Beca asked, but Chloe merely mimicked the action of stroking her thumb across her mouth. As Chloe leant forward it became clear what she was doing, but Beca remained motionless. Her whole body ached for the distance between them to disappear entirely, and as she felt Chloe's lips press firmly against her own it was as though fireworks erupted in her body.

She could still taste the sharpness of the sour sweets on the redhead's lips, but it quickly became her favourite taste in the world as their bodies pressed against each other like two puzzle pieces fitting together. She couldn't stop a tiny moan escaping her lips as weeks of pent up frustration was finally released, and she felt Chloe's tongue graze her mouth with a tender ferocity.

It was strange how right it felt. Whenever she had kissed guys before it had felt uncomfortable and forced, but this was right. She liked the taste that Chloe left behind on her lips; she liked the warmth that spread through her chest when their lips touch again and again, she liked how her body lit up at every point that made contact with Chloe. But it was wrong. She wasn't gay. This wasn't what her parents raised her to be, this wasn't who she was. She couldn't be gay; she couldn't be standing in her bedroom right now kissing a girl.

She pushed Chloe away, and it felt wrong to do so as cold air filled the space between them. "I'm sorry… I'm not… I-I'm not… this…" The words stumbled out her mouth and fell into a void. She expected Chloe to look hurt or rejected, but instead there was something else in her eyes. It looked like understanding. "It's okay," she said. Beca looked regretfully in her eyes and saw that Chloe understood what she was feeling, as though she knew that Beca would eventually accept this attraction.

But that couldn't happen. She could never come round to the idea of kissing girls… of kissing Chloe. "You should probably go," she whispered, knowing that if Chloe stayed any longer she would run the risk of thinking that it was okay to like her in that way. "Okay… Just, call me, okay?" Chloe said with concern. She had been through this, she knew what it was like and knew what torture Beca was probably putting herself through at that moment, and she didn't want her to think she had to go through it alone.

Without another word she left, but the door didn't close in time to block out the sound of Beca crying out, "Fuck!" It hurt to walk away, but if it was what Beca needed then it's what she would do.

Meanwhile, Beca lashed out in her room and kicked the side of her desk, making the items on top slide around dangerously. She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and blinked harshly to get rid of the tears filling up in her eyes. "I'm not fucking gay," she said out loud, hoping that if she said it loud enough it would stop whatever she felt towards Chloe.

She picked up her phone and scrolled down to Luke's name, and then flung the device back onto her bed. She couldn't do that… Not to Chloe… She couldn't hurt Chloe. But then again, it could be what she needed. If she and Chloe were just friends then this wouldn't matter one bit… With a lot of hesitation she picked up the phone again and shakily dialled Luke's number. "Hey er… can you come over?" she said, aware of the tremors in her voice.  
"Sure, are you okay?"  
"I'm fine; I just need to see you."

Twenty minutes later, Beca had been pacing non-stop in her room as she waited for Luke to arrive. When there was a knock at the door she jumped slightly before opening it, breathing deeply to try and compose herself. "Hey, are you okay?" Luke asked, but Beca didn't reply. She pulled him into her room and pressed him up against the door, kissing him to forget. "Wait, wait," he said, and she stopped. "What's going on?"  
"I just missed you," Beca said, hoping she sounded convincing enough.

Luke paused for a moment before flipping them over, pressing Beca up against the door and kissing her with everything he had. He tore her top away from her body and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up, biting slightly at her skin as he worked his mouth down to her collarbone. This kissing felt uncomfortable again, just like it had with every other guy she had fucked to forget. He pulled down Beca's jeans before tugging at his own, and she stared with hollow eyes over his shoulder as he entered her.

She could only pray that he didn't notice the tears that fell onto his shoulder.


End file.
